X-Men: Iceman

Updated on March 19, 2012

Iceman was one of the original five X-Men, and before Wolverine and Gambit could join, Iceman was the defiant one. His powers are pretty obvious considering his nickname as he can lower his body temperature to negative one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit. He also has the ability to transform any kind of moisture into an unusually hard form of ice which he does frequently to create objects in a battle like a shield, or even slides for faster transport. He was often a trusted ally despite his penchant for leaving the X-Men from time to time. He even jumps ship to follow Polaris and Havok to the X-Factor team after awhile.

Iceman's real name is that of Bobby Drake and he learned of his power at a young age. He discovered his mutation when in his early teenage years and managed to keep it quiet from everyone except his parents. He didn't have terrific control over his gift as he would sometimes feel too cold and let what little control he had out when he and his then girlfriend were being bullied in school. Bobby retaliated by encasing the bully in a sculpture of ice revealing his mutation for all to see. Like with all other towns upon realizing the power of a mutant, they formed a "lynch-like" mob to drive Bobby out. They broke into his house figuring they could overpower him, however he was not home as the town sheriff realized his life was in danger and put him in jail for protection. Bobby's mutation grabbed the attention of Charles Xavier, who sent Scott Summers to Bobby's town in hopes of recruiting him to the X-Men. Scott went to the jailhouse where Bobby was being held and Bobby fought Scott as he refused to accompany him. Amidst their skirmish, Bobby was free of his cage but the two found themselves in the sights of the lynch mob. Bobby and Scott were about to be hung until Xavier used his telepathy to freeze the lynch mob in place allowing the two to leave. On top of freezing the lynch mob, he also erased the townspeople's memories of Bobby's mutation. This pleased Bobby, and he then gratefully accepted Xavier's invitation to his institution. Shortly after becoming an X-Men, he took the code name of Iceman.

The X-Men were feared by humanity most notably in the early years, and they took this time to hone their abilities while defending humanity from those who have mutations and use them at their own benefit or by the detriment to humanity. Iceman was the youngest of the original five founding members of the X-Men, and also the brashest of the group. He often provided the comic relief a lot of the times as well. Still, when the chips were down, he often proved that he belonged on the team as he was a good ally. The X-Men were not always a close knit group as they did disband on occasion. The team disbanded once when they believed their leader was dead, but when he came back the group had two more mutants to call their friends. These two friends were that of Lorna Dane (Polaris) and Alex Summers (Havok). Iceman and Polaris had a brief attraction to each other, but it fizzled quickly as she realized her heart belonged solely to Havok. Iceman had a hard time with this rejection and called it quits from the X-Men for a short period of time. After the mission that he and his fellow X-Men were captured by Kroakoa, he left the team like the others and went to college on a scholarship he got for awhile. Eventually he came back when the X-Men kidnapped again by a different villain named Arcade. A former X-Men named Banshee, Polaris, Havok and himself freed the hostages that Arcade had gathered and freed the captured X-Men. Upon successful completion of this rescue, Iceman was able to move on from Polaris' rejection.

Iceman left the X-Men again and joined his former teammate Beast's group called the Defenders. The Defenders consisted of three former X-Men but were a short lived group that disbanded after a brutal climatic fight. He then jumped ship again this time to the X-Factor, headlined by Havok and Polaris. As a member of the X-Factor, the Asgardian trickster Loki had him kidnapped in hopes of using him to gain control over the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. In turn, Loki also enhanced Iceman's abilities to the point where he could cover his entire body in ice. He never attempted to push his abilities any further as he believed that he had reached his maximum potential. After a brief hiatus in outer space, Xavier returned to the X-Men and when he did Polaris, Havok and Iceman followed in suit. Over time as he faced other villains, he did began to test the limits of his ability and learned more about his mutation to become a much more formidable opponent in battle.

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5 comments

Thanks for the write. I love the X-Men and did not know all the details about Iceman. Interesting to read. Cheers!

mtpocketts 4 years ago

Glad to see Iceman getting some well deserved appreciation!

cperuzzi 4 years ago from Freehold, NJ

A good article on Iceman.

Just a few things, though. As with all of the original five X-men, Bobby has undergone a dramatic increase in his personal power levels. Angel became more powerful after Apocalypse got to him. The Beast through his own tampering with his genetic code grew stronger and more dexterous (let alone the blue fur). Cyclops went through a power increase shortly after his first encounter with Krakoa (the island that walks like a man). And Jean Grey's power levels increased while she was recovering from her time when she was replaced by the Phoenix force.

Iceman's power levels have been slowly increasing since X-men #1 where he originally looked like a walking snow man to the iced over crystalline character he is today. What's more, he's not exactly the most stealthy of members knowing that every time he bends one of his limbs he breaks the ice coating around him.

Iceman's preferred method of travel is his creation of impromptu ice bridges that he uses to slide over during combat (He periodically creates structures to support these bridges and insure stability).

Iceman's power is limited by the amount of water vapor present within the air. While he could certainly cool off members of his team in a desert environment, he would not be able to create any structures there as there is little to no moisture there.

If you could, there is a limited 4 issue run of an Iceman series that was done in the mid-80's where he falls in love with the daughter of Oblivion. It's worth a read.

Great article on Iceman. He really doesn't get enough attention for the potential power that he has.

Nickalooch 4 years ago from Columbia, MD Author

Thanks for the comments everyone, if you have any suggestions for future articles go ahead and tell me. The next one is obviously Storm.

UnknownWon 3 years ago from Parts Unknown

This was a good article on Iceman. There are a few things that was forgotten though;

Iceman is also an omega level mutant, meaning he has unlimited potential to have almost god like power. He began to try and push his powers to further limits after Emma Frost took over his body and used his powers in ways that he never knew possible.